Around 3,000 More US Troops Deploying to Southern Border

With this latest force movement, approximately 9,000 U.S. troops will be stationed along the U.S.–Mexico border, according to the U.S. Northern Command.

U.S. Army soldiers patrol the U.S.–Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2025. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

About 3,000 additional U.S. troops are set to deploy to the southern border in the next few weeks as part of President Donald Trump’s expanding border security mission.

In a statement on March 1, the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the deployment of elements of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team and a General Support Aviation Battalion to join U.S. troops already deployed along the U.S.–Mexico border.

Hegseth called up these troops at Trump’s direction “to reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States.”

The U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) announced that about 2,400 soldiers comprising elements of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Carson, Colorado, had been selected for the border security mission, along with about 500 more soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Some additional soldiers from the 19th Public Affairs Detachment from Fort Riley, Kansas, will also be attached to the mission.

The Pentagon said the soldiers would begin arriving at the border “in the coming weeks” but did not provide a more specific timeline for the deployment.

Trump has already ordered new troop deployments to the southern border since retaking the White House in January. In his first week in office, he ordered about 1,500 additional U.S. troops to join others who were already stationed at the border before his return to the White House.

By the time this latest troop deployment is complete, there will be about 9,000 U.S. troops stationed along the U.S.–Mexico border under federal authorization, according to NORTHCOM.

“These deployments will bring additional agility and capability to further efforts to stop the flow of illegal migrancy and drugs at the southern border,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, NORTHCOM’s commanding general, said on March 1.

Troops assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team will be able to support detection and monitoring efforts along the border, while also providing administrative support, transportation assistance, warehousing and logistical capabilities, vehicle maintenance support, and engineering support, NORTHCOM said.

These troops will not be directly involved in efforts to intercept border crossing attempts, nor will they be involved in deportation operations.

Troops assigned to the aviation support units may help move personnel, equipment, and supplies, or conduct aerial medical evacuations if needed.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has taken several steps to block people and illicit substances from illegally crossing the U.S.–Mexico border, and to deport those residing in the United States illegally.

In February, the State Department formally designated six transnational cartel groups and two transnational gangs as terrorist organizations.

Mexico has also announced some steps to address Trump’s border security concerns. After Trump threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced she had agreed to place about 10,000 Mexican troops along the U.S.–Mexico border in exchange for Trump agreeing to pause the tariff for a month.

Canada, likewise, won a one-month reprieve from Trump’s 25 percent tariff after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada would invest in efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking, designate cartel groups as terrorist organizations, and partner with the United States on a task force aimed at preventing drug trafficking and other cross-border criminal activity.

On Feb. 27, Trump announced his administration will proceed with the 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada on March 4. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said drugs from Mexico and Canada are still flowing into the United States “at very high and unacceptable levels.”

“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the U.S.A, and therefore, until it stops or is seriously limited, the proposed tariffs scheduled to go into effect on March 4 will, indeed, go into effect as scheduled,” Trump wrote.